Ballet terms made simple

In putting the final touches on my novel, OUTSIDE THE LIMELIGHT, back in 2016, I decided to include a glossary of ballet terms in the back of the book. Which made me pause and consider just how one constructed one’s own glossary of ballet terms. Do you borrow from a dictionary, or a Wiki page, or a … Read more

World Ballet Day 2015 is on!

Want the link to the Oct 5, 2017 coverage? Click HERE! Welcome to The Classical Girl’s World Ballet Day 2015 page! Glad you could make it. I will update this page prior to, and throughout World Ballet Day, so you can have the most relevant links and information as the day unrolls. And want to hold onto … Read more

Giving birth [to a book] on Mother’s Day

It’s minutes before midnight and I’m about to give birth. Well, to a book. But, weirdly, there are correlations: this pain of pushing, pushing, and finally, in this agonizing rush of both relief and loss, it’s out there. OFF BALANCE, my first ballet novel, is out there, in stores. My baby, out in the world. But I didn’t … Read more

Classical Girl’s New Year’s resolution

Do I want this blog to be the story of the fiery, relentless energy of the ten years in which I produced five muse-inspired novels? The aching loss as the decade-long dream of being traditionally published got pounded down into nothingness? Nah. The New Year is a great opportunity to end a pity party over … Read more

Maggie Shipstead’s astonishing ballet novel, Astonish Me

The choreography is old-fashioned, but as Rusakov circles the stage doing high, perfect coupés jetés en tournant, his technique is not fusty but pure. His movements are quick but unhurried, impossible in their clarity and difficulty and extraordinary in how they seem to burst from nowhere, without any apparent effort or preparation. But the beauty … Read more